My "build"

[awelcome]

I was just thinking of having it for the bit of yellow on her.... I see a lot of people suggest/mention they use it when I was reading through posts. I might hold off on it though.... can't give DH a heart attack lol. I will check those out. Thanks.

Ironically if I look up Springtails in my zipcode all I get are exterminators and talk of infestation rofl.

[DigitalPunk]

LoL

Color enhancers are not bad at all, I am not trying to talk you out of it. I was just thinking (because cost has been an issue) that it isn't "Needed" right now. Lump it in with your next order. A lot of the supplements are on Amazon as well, but I buy from the hobby sites to support them and keep them around for us all

[awelcome]

Holy cow, WAY better price! I can get the whole kit SHIPPED for less than the kit at Josh's lol. Thanks for the tip. What other things are better from there vs. Josh's. I will have to do some browsing.

[awelcome]

of course I haven't gotten to the part where they say whether they will be guaranteed live or not.... NE to OR is a bit of a jaunt lol.

[awelcome]

Ok, so going through checkout... looks like it's standard shipping (4-5 days). Is that going to be ok for live bugs? It doesn't say one way or the other if they guarantee live arrival.

[DigitalPunk]

Springs are resilient little buggers. They ship their springs in ABG mix so they don't get crushed as much in shipping. With it being ABG mix it will mix into your tank soil nicely

I love their Wood selection! I buy all my wood from them, soil, leaf litter, fruit fly culture media, fruit fly culturing supplies... really I buy just about everything from them but the tanks, frogs, and some plants.

Amazon has some good prices on Exo Terras and with prime shipping. I had one issue where a door broke on me and the company that sales them called the manufacturer and had a new door shipped to me free of charge in a matter of days.

The great thing about NeHerp is after you place your order for wood you can email them and send them a picture of your tank and describe how you want to use the wood in your order. They will hand pick pieces for you as best they can to fit your plants Look at my 40B build. I sent them the picture of the tank and told them how tall it needed to be and I got the perfect piece of ghost wood. Love those NeHerp Peps

[DigitalPunk]

Ok, so going through checkout... looks like it's standard shipping (4-5 days). Is that going to be ok for live bugs? It doesn't say one way or the other if they guarantee live arrival.

I ordered some Isopods from them in Feb and when they arrived most of them were dead. I emailed Jessica and told her. She put another culture in the mail to me without a hassle.

[awelcome]

I did read on their site about their policies and guarantees.... looks like I am in the 5 day zone, and they say if the weather is below 50 or above 85 in either location to select express shipping but I can't find an option for that anywhere. It also says not guaranteed unless live within one transit day. I think I may contact them first and see what they suggest to do before I make the order. How long does a culture of them last? I am thinking if I ever need to order more it would be best to plan them around the cooler but not cold months lol.

[DigitalPunk]

It depends on the tank and frogs. 1 culture could last you forever if you set it up to breed and then added from that to your tank.

I bought 1 Spring culture and dumped it into my Red tank. In about 30 Days the soil was crawling with them... 1000s of them. I setup a breeding box and shock several hundred into it which has now supplied all 5 of my tanks with springs and been spread into 2 other breeding boxes

You can choose the shipping method at checkout through paypal. I usually get my stuff from them in 3 days and have not had any issues. They will put ice packs in there if needed. With Springs I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Plants and such I would pay the extra to make sure they arrive alive

[awelcome]

yeah, with such a small tank I definitely wasn't considering dumping the whole culture in... Was going to put some, and then culture the rest with the kit. I was doing credit check out so maybe that's why. I still think I will email first and see what they say, but thanks again for the tip to try them.

[deranged chipmunk]

Alicia, you did an excellent job on the tank! This is what the forum is all about, like Lija said (and it pains me to a great extent to agree with her ) taking poor info from the pet store and creating a wonderful home for that pretty frog. Kudos to you!!!! Nice job guys!!


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[awelcome]

For now I had been setting the thermo/hygro on the log where it's a little more dry (though I did move it to spray in there, and then put it back on the wet log). I still worry this isn't giving me accurate readings for Humidity (I know the temp is pretty good since I also have the glass thermo in there and they read the same). I want to mount it perhaps, but I just don't know where to mount it so it's not in the way, not ugly and ruining the look of the tank, but also so it's relevant (like I don't know if the humidity at the very top of the tank is the same as the areas she will actually be hanging out). I would like to feel secure enough that I don't need it, but I don't think I am there since over night it did drop down to 80% according to the hygro. If I do attach it to the tank (it's the sticky kind with velcro) is it going to come off if I choose to later? Or will it leave a horrible sticky mess on the glass? Is there a better option out there? Should I just look into a digital one, and if so, which one?

[deranged chipmunk]

Well, first and foremost, do NOT trust the readings of those analog hygrometers, they are notoriously made poorly and ridiculously inaccurate. Invest in a decent digital one. There are some very good analog hygrometers out there used for cigar humidors, however, a good, precision one can cost well over $100, but a decent digital is about $30. Seems like a no brainer

Don't worry about moving stuff around for the frog. She will make the home hers. Think about what her behavior in the wild, she will forage for food when she is hungry. There are no flat leaves where somebody deposits fruit flies in the rainforest the more you leave her be, the more natural behavior you will be able to observe. just sit back and be amazed at what 400 million years of evolution looks like


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[awelcome]

I have looked through reviews for various digital hygros and thermo/hygro combos and all seem to have some pretty bad reviews. Would you mind linking me to one or two good ones to consider? I also wondered how they would be set up.... does the read-out portion sit outside the tank? If so, how do you get it in without leaving an opening somehow? Thanks again.

[DigitalPunk]

I don't know that there is such a think as a good accurate digital hydrometer. I have yet to find one. The ones i settled on and use in some of my tanks still is the exo terra digital thermometer and Hydrometer . There are little holes along the back of the lid and tank where the cord can be routed. You can hang the probe in the tank and the screen outside the tank.

Any "affordable" digital hydrometer has at a minimum of 10% + or - error rate. I also have to remove the probe every so often for a week or so to let it dry out and then put it back in. That is why I now don't rely on them.

[deranged chipmunk]

i just don't use them. i use glass thermometers and i can normally tell what my humidity levels are by my plants. but remember, i know all my plants so well, that i can tell if there is a problem long before it will affect my inhabitants. i don't recommend that for anyone lol

[awelcome]

Since I have a glass thermo, I was looking at the exo terra JUST hygro. I might get it.... I just hate to spend another 17 bucks or whatever on something that is unreliable at best.... but as you said Bill I am by no means an expert with plants so I can't just tell by looking yet. I hope that if I just try my best to keep it misted and properly set up it will be properly humid and I can more utilize the hygro to see fluctuations (whether at the correct % or not) so I can tell if something is changing. I would use the one I have in the same way, but unless I want to mount that ugly thing to my beautiful vivarium it's not even reliable for that sitting on a wet log.

[awelcome]

on a side note... not sure there is a section on the forum to just complain about pet stores lol... I went back to Petco tonight to grab a second FF culture so I could alternate because she's eating so well she's already dwindling my supply and they can't mature fast enough lol. While I was there I checked on the remaining dart frogs they have there, and I was sad to see that the temp in the enclosure read 84, and humidity barely 80%. Let's hope their analog readers are just crappy..... the frogs looked ok, moving around a bit, but I don't know enough to say if they looked healthy. I also noticed they were still feeding them crickets that looked too big.... SMH.

[DigitalPunk]

I just had to stop looking at the frogs at big chain pet stores and some mom and pop stores. It just makes me want to buy them all and save them, but that is unrealistic. I have a pretty decent rapport with the manager and have gently guided him towards better conditions. He has since stopped offering Darts at my local store because the tanks the chain have him use to house the amphibians for sale are not designed to hold the right humidity.


I would get the exo terra and get the peace of mind it offers. It may not be accurate, but it can help you detect sudden dips in the enclosure so you can mist when needed. Eventually you will learn the cycles your tank goes through and how often you need to mist to counter the dips, but all of that comes with time.

I don't know plants like Bill does, but I have killed enough of them to tell when they need water or if I have given them to much. Also through using a Hydrometer I can now tell on all my Dart tanks when they need to be misted based on the wetness of certain parts of the tank.

[awelcome]

I am pretty nervous that I am going to kill these plants lol.. I just really don't have a good history with plants. I worry more about OVER watering though, than under at this point because I am misting multiple times a day to keep the humidity up and try to get it higher in general. I just don't know how directly I should spray the plants.... I know my moss around the edges feels pretty wet from all the water I have poured down the sides yesterday to fill the drainage layer some and from misting. Can that be TOO wet, or will it drain down as needed for sure? I think I am more nervous about killing the plants or swamping my tank than the care of my frog rofl. I think I just need tropical weeds... I am good with weeds. They have overtaken my yards!.... big horrible vines called bind weed.